How is avitaminosis treated? Medicines, supplements, diet

The treatment of vitamin deficiency in the body, whether it is hypovitaminosis or avitaminosis, consists in supplying sufficient amounts of the missing vitamins.

The main source of vitamins for the human body is food that normally covers the daily dose of all required vitamins.

The doses of vitamins needed to maintain their physiological levels, i.e. the health of the body, vary according to gender, age, physical condition or specific periods, such as pregnancy or breastfeeding.

The daily reference intake values for each vitamin are set by the European Food Safety Authority.

Table: overview of the daily reference values of individual vitamins by age.

MJ = megajoule (the amount of vitamin needed is calculated on the basis of the body's energy requirements)

The first step to improving the condition and symptoms associated with hypovitaminosis is to change your eating habits.

Care should be taken to ensure that sufficient food is consumed, and that it is varied and balanced. Avoid a monotonous diet and eating only selected and limited types of food.

It is also advisable to eat fresh foods (especially fruit and vegetables) and avoid frequent cooking.

In cases where food cannot cover the daily intake of vitamins or where increased vitamin intake is required, food supplements or medicines are used.

Vitamins are available in various dosage forms as mono- or multivitamin supplements.

We often find vitamins in medicines too, for example vitamin C as part of medicines used for colds and flu, vitamin B₆ in medicines containing magnesium to aid its absorption, etc.

Vitamin A derivatives are used to treat acne or psoriasis.

Advanced disorders or diseases associated with hypovitaminosis or even avitaminosis also require the administration of higher doses of vitamins than the daily reference intake.

In many cases, treatment of the disease is also required as an addition to adjustment or increased vitamin intake.

If the reason for vitamin deficiency in the body is a lack of absorption, impaired excretion or other diseases, these should be addressed first, as increased vitamin intake will have no or even a negative effect.

If vitamin deficiency is related to a disorder in the gastrointestinal tract, non-oral dosage forms of vitamins may be used for treatment (e.g. intravenous administration).

The human body is also capable of making some vitamins on its own, i.e. vitamin D that is formed in the skin by the action of UV radiation. This method of vitamin D production is insufficient in winter and needs to be supplemented in the diet.

The intestinal microflora, in turn, is able to produce vitamin K and, in very small quantities, vitamins B₅ and B₇.

This mode of formation is sensitive to changes in the composition of the intestinal microflora (for example, by the action of antibiotics).